Premature emasculation

“…May God grant the young men who participated in wounding their fellow students the tough love of honest friends and the necessary guidance and support by which they may be freed from the destructive power of the spirit of domination and the exclusive attitudes that drove them into such violent and hateful behavior.”

SuchÃ‚Â aÃ‚Â group, having adopted ‘truth’ as not only part of their name but also lists “truth-seeking”Ã‚Â as their stated goal, has absolutely no business making such statements without knowing – really knowing -Ã‚Â all of the facts in advance.Ã‚Â They are jumping, all Nifong-like, into something that could very well come back to bite them in their pre-judgemental buttocks.

My advice to them:Ã‚Â Take it back.Ã‚Â Then seek reconcilliation from all partiesÃ‚Â whoÃ‚Â are innocent until proven guilty.

11 Comments

How about we ALL admit our prejudices once and for all; it’s just that some are better than others at veiling them – and those who cannot veil well – should NOT be in a position where they make public statements that impact lives to a point where irrevocable damage has been inflicted.

The whole Guilford situation is getting ridiculous. There is a perfectly respectable member of the Guilford faculty and an important figure in the Quaker community pretty much blaming the entire situation on athletes and adult students (fyi, I’m an adult student). There’s kids on campus who were nowhere near the situation making judgements based on hearsay. And then people write in to the news and record smirking because “those pacifists” have finally gotten their comeuppance.

It makes me SO mad. I frankly expect better out of Guilford students, and certain members of the faculty, and everyone else for that matter. I can’t really blame the media, it IS a pretty ironic story. And I will say again, it’s a pretty damning indictment of society in general, that this happened and continues to happen at GUILFORD, OF ALL PLACES!!

This will undoubtedly sound super phony, I can’t even write it without rolling my own eyes. It matters to me, though, so I’ll say in anyway. The way I fight personal prejudice is by making a calculated effort to avoid judging people based on the groups to which they belong. That’s how I define prejudice. I recognize that all kinds of factors affect my batting average, but that’s what I’m thinking when I’m taking my swings. The situation at Guilford College is tempting, with so many groups to judge: Palestinians, Quakers, Jocks, Liberals, Academics, Administrators, and more. It takes discipline to stay focused on individuals, but that’s what I took from Dr. King. I find the GTRP’s statement to be an example of prejudice.

I’m not naive, but I am always taken aback by the sharpness of the edges in this town. Skip Alston has almost no filter for his declarations of racism. Tom Phillips calls the TRC “a crock.” Florence Gatten calls activists bunch of aging hippies who only want to relive their glory days. Jerry Bledsoe hates the N&R, and they return the favor. David Wray gets locked out of his office, and lands on The Rhino front page. Drama and negativity trump mundane problem-solving every time. When something like the incident at Guilford College comes up, everyone rushes to form sides. Everyone acts so wise and weary, as if they are playing one more game in a long season for a team that is 100% right against an opposing team which is 100% wrong. That feels too stupid for me to believe, but that’s how it gets framed. I feel like I’m living Yeats’ line in “The Second Coming” — “The best lack all conviction, while the worst; Are full of passionate intensity.”

Why is that everyone has to keep adopting “I’m right and your position a crock” positions with such assinine certainty?

What a chance the Project blew here.

They could have left the judgemental stuff out of their statement and it would have been a most powerful position. They could have taken the lead on helping the community through a tough time that is playing out on CNN and elsewhere. But Noooooo.

It almost feels like they were somehow trying prove their relevance during a time when Official Greensboro has clandestinely decided to shun their efforts. Unfortunately, to my mind, they have made it clear they are not looking for “truth” in this matter. That only gives Phillips, et al, further license to assign “crock” and “former glory”, wise and weary positions.

If Fecund Stench has it right, and I think he does, over at — http://fecundstench.com/WordPress/?p=24 , then Badi Ali has given the Quaker community, the entire Greensboro community, a beautiful example of a gracious and empathetic statement from the Palestinian, Muslim community. This is a beautiful example of healing and reconciliation. I know it brought tears to my eyes as I read Badi’s words:

Imam Badi Ali, president of GreensboroÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Islamic Center of the Triad, said he believes Guilford College should address the behavior of its football team, but said he does not blame the institution for the violence.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“This has nothing to do with the college; it has nothing to do with the Quaker community,Ã¢â‚¬? said Ali, who is Palestinian. Ã¢â‚¬Å“I am really sorry that this happened at Guilford College. I know the Quakers. They are our friends. My heart goes out to them in this crisis.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“In all the colleges here in Greensboro, they recruit students from Palestine,Ã¢â‚¬? he added. Ã¢â‚¬Å“They open their doors, their hearts, their pockets. What else? Do we see other colleges doing that? No. Do we see other countries doing that? No. The Quakers were able to help other communities here in Greensboro. Now they are opening their arms to Arabs and Muslims. Their reaction, their politics are my own.Ã¢â‚¬?

The T&R people are just wanting to make some noise because nobody is paying much attention to them anymore. Your analysis on “truth” and snap judgments is spot on. I suppose Jesse Jackson will be down here next- not to help with the problem, but to promote himself. Same thing with the T&R.

I have lived in several cities in the South over the past 35 years and never have I found so much hatred and evident desire for revenge and blatant in your face racism as we have in Greensboro and Guilford County. The Black leaders are responsible for this attitude, and it is causing a chasm to develop between the races. A chasm none of us who have believed in and worked so hard for equality and civility between the races want to see happen, but feel helpless to stop it. At least I feel helpless. When I speak out and try to point out what is happening I am labeled a racist or worse. And yet it is this kind of thing from a group of people who claim to be looking for truth and wanting justice yet jump to condemn before the truth is known that makes my heart ache. Sad.